Seven new large-scale solar projects became operational in 2016, making it another strong year for a tehcnology that is rapidly coming of age.

Another type of large-scale solar technology is concentrated solar PV (CPV). CPV uses lenses or curved mirrors to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a relatively small solar PV array.

This means that less money needs to be spent on PV panels; however, the additional costs of lenses, mirrors and other infrastructure may cancel out these savings. Ongoing research into more efficient CPV technologies aims to bring the cost down further.

Large-scale solar PV in Australia: 2016 in focus

Greenough River Solar Farm (First Solar)

The 56 MW Moree Solar Farm in New South Wales developed by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures was the largest solar project of the year and is the second-largest in the country behind the 102 MW Nyngan solar plant, developed by AGL and First Solar. The 25 MW Barcaldine Solar Farm, planned and developed by Elecnor in Queensland, was also notable.

At the end of 2016, Australia had 12 solar projects larger than 5 MW in size. With the exception of one solar thermal plant, the solar farms used photovoltaic technology, and together they provided 319 MW of generation capacity.

Funding was announced for 480 MW of solar capacity in September across a dozen projects. These were split across Queensland (six projects), New South Wales (five projects) and Western Australia (one project). Many of these are expected to commence construction in 2017.

Large-scale solar plants commissioned in 2016

Technology

Location

Owner

Capacity (MW)

Solar PV

Moree Solar Farm, NSW

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures

56

Solar PV

Barcaldine, QLD

Elecnor

25

Solar PV

Mugga Lane, ACT

Maoneng Australia

13

Solar PV

Williamsdale, ACT

Impact Investment Group

10

Solar PV

De Grussa Mine, WA

Sandfire Resources NL

10

Solar PV

Darwin Airport, NT

UGL

5.5

Solar PV

Normanton, QLD

Scouller Energy and Canadian Solar

5

Sources:

SunWiz Consulting, 2013

Realising the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power in Australia, Australian Solar Institute, 2012